Faith Credited: Living in the Righteousness of God

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Scripture • World English Bible

Romans 4:1–12

WEB

¹What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?

²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.

³For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

⁴Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.

⁵But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

⁶Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,

⁸Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”

⁹Is this blessing then pronounced only on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

¹⁰How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

¹¹He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.

¹²He is the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision.

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

Paul brings us back to the roots of God’s saving work by pointing to Abraham. The question he raises is simple: was Abraham made right with God by what he did, or by what he trusted? The point Paul presses is not that obedience is unimportant, but that the ground of our right standing with God is faith, not earning. If acceptance before God were a wage for good deeds, it would be something owed—and that would make boasting possible. But God deals differently: he counts trust as righteousness because he justifies the ungodly out of grace.

Paul goes further by showing that this was true before any religious rite marked Abraham as God’s people. The sign of circumcision came later as a seal of what was already true in Abraham’s life: his relationship with God was established by trust, and the sign confirmed that relationship. That means the blessing of being counted righteous is not limited to those who carry outward marks; it is open to everyone who follows the same path Abraham walked—trusting God when his promises seem impossible.

This matter of counting—crediting—matters for our daily life. First, it gives us assurance: when God declares us righteous, he is not making a provisional judgment based on our fluctuating performance. He views us through the lens of Christ’s work and the faith we place in him. Second, it frees our obedience from the burden of earning acceptance. We obey not to secure God’s favor but because that favor has already been given; obedience becomes the grateful fruit of justification, not its currency. Third, it shapes mission: the gospel goes beyond rituals and ethnic boundaries because God’s way of making people right is trust, available to anyone who believes.

So how do we live in the truth Paul sets before us? We refuse both pride and despair. Pride would try to rebuild righteousness by deeds; despair would see failure as proof that God must reject us. Instead we confess failures, embrace God’s forgiveness, and take next steps of faith. Like Abraham, we may be called to trust God in uncomfortable or uncertain places—promises that look impossible, relationships that need reconciling, or convictions that cost us socially. In each case, the posture is the same: rely on the God who justifies the ungodly and let that reliance shape our choices, service, and witness.

Putting Faith Into Action

When you feel pressure to perform for God's approval, stop and name one truth: your right standing with God rests on trusting Christ, not on meeting a checklist. Practice this by confessing one thing you cannot fix and asking God to receive you by faith.
Turn gratitude into action: choose one obedient step this week you wouldn’t take to earn God’s favor but to respond to it—serve someone, forgive, or open your home—and do it knowing your acceptance isn’t at stake.
Share the gospel with someone who feels excluded by religious rules or cultural marks. Tell them that God’s way to be counted righteous is faith, and invite them to consider the promises of God you’ve trusted.

Prayer

Lord, thank you that you count trust as righteousness and that your acceptance is not something I must earn. When I am tempted to boast in what I do or to despair over what I have failed to do, remind me of your gracious way. Give me the courage to live in grateful obedience and to share this good news with others. Amen.

Memory Verse

Romans 4:3 — For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (WEB)

“For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.””

Keep Going Continue to Part 10 Hope Against Hope Romans · Romans 4:13–25 Read the next devotional →

Bible Context

Read all of Romans 4

Romans 4

World English Bible • WEB

¹What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?

²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.

³For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

⁴Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.

⁵But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

⁶Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,

⁸Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”

⁹Is this blessing then pronounced only on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

¹⁰How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

¹²He is the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision.

¹³For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he would be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

¹⁴For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect.

¹⁵For the law produces wrath; for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience.

¹⁶For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the offspring, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

¹⁷As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” This is in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.

¹⁸Against hope, Abraham in hope believed, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So will your offspring be.”

¹⁹Without being weakened in faith, he didn’t consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

²⁰Yet, looking to the promise of God, he didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to God,

²¹and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.

²²Therefore it also was “credited to him for righteousness.”

²³Now it was not written that it was accounted to him for his sake alone,

²⁴but for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

²⁵who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.